Alfonso Mango

Alfonso mangoes from India, in season for a few weeks and then gone. There are sweeter mangoes and there are cheaper mangoes, but the Alfonso has the perfume, and that is what people queue for.

Eat it cold and plain, over a sink, with a spoon. Anything else is a use for the ones that got too ripe: aamras, a lassi, a kulfi, or sliced over sticky rice. Do not cook a good Alfonso — heat destroys exactly the aroma you paid for.

Judge by smell, not colour. A ripe Alfonso is fragrant at the stem end from a hand's distance away, gives slightly under gentle pressure, and often looks less impressive than an unripe one. Sold by the kilo or by the box; the box is how most families buy it in season.

Counter until it is fragrant and gives at the stem, then the fridge, which holds it for two or three more days.

Refrigerating a hard mango stops it ripening for good — it will go soft eventually but it will never develop the smell.

Three to six days from delivery, depending on ripeness on arrival.